Coalition Legal Team Argues Case

The CNVH legal team made oral arguments on Friday on our appeal of the US Bankruptcy Court decision in May. This decision denied us the right even to have our case heard. Our appeal on Friday would allow us to press our suit to compel the New York State Department of Health to continue the services provided at St. Vincent's.

It was a great opportunity to make our case for why adequate health care is a fundamental right for all New Yorkers and public health institutions cannot just collapse in a matter of days without consequence.

Below is a picture of our legal team. All of them having been working tirelessly - without a penny of pay - for months.

Please thank them for their incredible work and effort, by joining us at the '100 Days Without A Hospital' Rally on Sunday October 17th at 2pm. Below is a link to a flyer to pass around. We have already confirmed a number of organizations and celebrity Michelle Clunie from Showtime's Queer as Folk. Please let us know too if your organization would like to join.

RALLY: 100 DAYS WITHOUT A HOSPITAL

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Please print out the above flyer and let your neighbors know about this important rally. You can download an 11" X 17" poster here.

Coalition Files Suit to Demand Release of Documents

The Coalition for a New Village Hospital filed suit in New York County Supreme Court today to demand release of documents kept secret by the New York State Dept. of Health. The suit, filed by attorneys Yetta Kurland and Thomas Shanahan on behalf of the Coalition, seeks to compel the Dept. of Health to release the hospital closure plans, transfer plans and all related documents.

While the documents are public records, the Dept. has steadfastly refused to release them despite a Freedom of Information Law request and numerous other inquiries. Today's Article 78 proceeding asks the court to order their release. Included in these documents will be details of any plans to transfer the St. Vincent's site to other hospital providers - and importantly why these attempts were quashed by Health Commissioner Richard Daines.

Here's civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland discussing the suit this morning.

Included in the complaint are IRS documents showing alleged mismanagement, high executive salaries and rampant waste by St. Vincent's management prior to the closure. Executive salaries remained sky-high as doctors, nurses and patients were asked to sacrifice.

Here are the documents filed today:

Coalition for a New Village Hospital: Article 78 Action Part 1

Coalition for a New Village Hospital: Article 78 Action Part 2

The coalition also held a press conference in conjunction with today's filing, which was reported on by The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, New York 1 (with Video), and others. In addition to Kurland and Shanahan, Coalition members Eileen Dunn RN, District Leaders Paul Newell and Jean Grillo, activist Miguel Acevedo and Noah Pfefferblit of Community Board 1 spoke in favor of the law suit.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS FILE APPEAL TO DEMAND THAT NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH INVESTIGATE CLOSURE

OF ST. VINCENT'S HOSPITAL AND ENSURE NEW HOSPITAL AT THE SITE

Attorneys for community members of the West Village and Chelsea filed an appeal on Jul 19, 2010 to challenge the Bankruptcy Court's decision to deny community members the right to file suit against the Department of Health for allowing St. Vincent's Hospital to wrongfully close and for not ensuring a hospital replaced the 160 year medical institution. The Bankruptcy Judge claimed the suit would unfairly impact the distribution of assets to the creditors deciding it would "exercise control" over the assets.

Yetta Kurland, one of the attorneys representing the community members stated "This is not just about our fundamental right to health care, it is also about our fundamental right to due process. The Department of Health has an affirmative statutory obligation to ensure hospitals are closed properly. That means that the public needs to be properly protected in that process, which it was not here. It also means that the DOH has to ensure a continuation of the same services and ensure that this is place before it allows a hospital to close.

"But the Bankruptcy Court Judge told us that we could not proceed with our claim in New York State Court, not because we didn't have grounds, but because she wanted to retain jurisdiction on all matters related to the closure. But then she turned around and told us that we couldn't bring this lawsuit in Bankruptcy Court because we weren't a debtor or a creditor and because it might adversely impact the creditors' assets. This is not about assets, this is about people's lives. It begs the question; where do we go for relief when our state agencies are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. We believe the decision violates due process, New York State health laws and the New York State constitution."

Here's a full copy of the appeal

Coalition for a New Village Hospital Appellant Brief

Planning Meeting, Thursday May 13th

Help plan our next action!

This Thursday, May 13th at 6pm at Our Lady of Pompeii Church located at 25 Carmine Street, corner of Bleeker Street (Map), we'll hold a follow up meeting to our April 30th Town Hall Meeting where Assemblymember Gottfried, Assemblymember Glick and Senator Duane joined us to discuss some of the serious concerns with how St. Vincent's Hospital was closed and equally serious concerns with the fact that we now have no hospital on the lower west side of Manhattan.

There was an incredible turnout of hundreds of community members. Many great ideas came out of this Town Hall discussion and many of you have emailed us since then with other great ideas and thoughts.

We need to hear from you this Thursday as we sit down together to organize our next action and get even more people out.

The only way we will hold those responsible for this illegal closure and get a new hospital for the Village is if we get our entire community to come out so please come on Thursday to help us plan how to do this.

If you're on Facebook, RSVP to the Facebook event.

Hundreds Turn out to Demand a Hospital at St. Vincent's

Four hundred New Yorkers met at the Hudson Guild on Friday night to demand a hospital at St. Vincent's. Much of the three hour meeting was composed of residents speaking about how much St. Vincent's has meant to them, and how essential a full-service community hospital is to our city.

A panel of experts also spoke, detailing the history of St. Vincent's collapse, explaining impacts on the community and proposing new ways forward. Panel organizers Yetta Kurland and Thomas Shanahan were joined by Miguel Acevedo, St. Vincent's nurse Eileen Dunn RN, St. Vincent's doctor David Kaufman MD, and St. Vincent's patient Jay Kallio.

Elected officials including Assemblymember Richard Gottfired, Assemblymember Deborah Glick and Senator Thomas Duane also spoke and listened to feedback.

Contact your elected officials and Demand a Hospital at St. Vincent's!

Any solution to this crisis will require leadership from our elected officials. We need to let them know that We Demand a Hospital at St. Vincent's! Here are some people to contact and a few sample letters.

Be sure to include your full name and address so they know who's calling.

Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

The lower West side of Manhattan will not be safe without a level 1 trauma care hospital. I believe it will be more expensive to have to shuttle people between two facilities and we will lose federal funds available to a hospital that would not be available to an urgent care center. But most importantly, Mr. Mayor, there is no value you can put on human life. I am writing to demand that you protect our public health and safety and ensure a hospital exists at the site that was St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Email the Mayor at http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html, Call him at 311, or write him at City Hall, New York, NY 10007

Dear Governor Paterson:
We need a hospital on the lower West side of Manhattan. An urgent care center will not be able to provide the level of emergency care or the breadth of full health care services our community needs. It would not be able to adequately address any real public health or safety issues if they were to come up. Where is our hospital? I am writing to let you know we demand a hospital in lower Manhattan.

Email the Governor here, Call him at 518-474-8390, or write him at State Capitol, Albany, NY12224

Dear NYS Commissioner of Health Richard F. Daines:

You have a duty to the community in lower Manhattan to make sure a hospital exists here. The Berger Commission determined what hospitals should and should not be closed down, and St. Vincent’s was not chosen to be shut down. This means there is a real and compelling public need for a hospital at this location. I am writing to demand that you make sure this happen in the immediate. Also what happened to St. Vincent’s? You have the power to compel an investigation by the Attorney General’s office to find out why St. Vincent’s lost so much money. I am asking that you do this immediately.

Email the Commissioner at dohweb@health.state.ny.us, Call him at 518-474-2011, and write him at New York State Dept of Health, Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza, Albany,NY 12237

Dear Speaker Christine Quinn (Speaker of the City Council AND Lower West Side's Councilmember):

As you well know, we need a hospital on the lower West side of Manhattan. An urgent care center will not be able to provide the level of emergency care or the breadth of full health care services our community needs. It would not be able to adequately address any real public health or safety issues if they were to come up. I am writing to ask you to encourage the city council to guarantee that the resources and land at the old St. Vincent’s site be adaptively reused for a community hospital. Thank you.

Email Speaker Quinn at quinn@council.nyc.ny.us, call her at (212) 564-7757 and write to her at 224 West 30th St., Suite 1206, New York, NY 10001

Dear Senator Thomas K. Duane (Chair of the NYS Senate Health Committee AND Lower West Side's Senator):
As you well know, we need a hospital on the lower West side of Manhattan. An urgent care center will not be able to provide the level of emergency care or the breadth of full health care services our community needs. It would not be able to adequately address any real public health or safety issues if they were to come up. Also what happened to St. Vincent’s? You have the power to hold a hearing in the Senate Health Committee to find out why St. Vincent’s lost so much money. I am asking that you do this immediately.

Email the Senator at duane@senate.state.ny.us, call him at (212) 633-8052 or (518) 455-2451, and write him at 322 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1700, New York, NY 10001

Dear Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried (Chair, NYS Assembly Health Committee and West Side Assemblymember):
As you well know, we need a hospital on the lower west side of Manhattan. An urgent care center will not be able to provide the level of emergency care or the breadth of full health care services our community needs. It would not be able to adequately address any real public health or safety issues if they were to come up. Also what happened to St. Vincent’s? You have the power to hold a hearing in the Assembly Health Committee to find out why St. Vincent’s lost so much money. I am asking that you do this immediately.

Email the Assemblymember at GottfriedR@assembly.state.ny.us, call him at 212-807-7900 or518-455-4941, and write him at 242 West 27th Street,New York,NY 10001